The Police VIP motorcycle outriders, which lead convoys of President Museveni and visiting dignitaries have been viewed probably as an unnecessary extravagance.
But Inspector of Police, Alex Kamukama who has been part of those convoys for over 17 years says they are actually vital in clearing traffic and also providing extra security to the persons being escorted.
Alex Kamukama, the head of the Outriders at the Uganda Police VIP section says the Outriders are used to clear traffic from in front of the vehicles being escorted.
He said they can speed up a journey, but also reduce the risk to the car’s occupants on account of a moving vehicle being harder to target.
Each of the police officers seems to enjoy the time when riding the BMW cycles ahead of the President or high profile visitors.
The team, part of the convoy escorting President John Pombe Magufuli during his latest visit to Uganda, included Alex Kamukama, Enock Mugoya, Edward Bagonza, Akol Simon, Richard Omwony and Opiro Robert among others.
Alex Kamukama was heading the latest fleet of the BMW cycles imported at the time when Pope Francis was visiting Uganda in 2015.
He said the bikes have special features like adjustable windscreen, a special switch to enable riding during rain, a charging port for mobile phones, walk-talkies and a public address system.
Kamukama says they prefer tall persons for the outrider bikes because they cannot easily fall off the bikes. He says one needs over one-year training to qualify for assignment on the VIP outrider squad.
Edward Bagonza, one of the most experienced riders on the squad says he has fallen in love with motorcycles that he at times rides his inferior India-made Bajaj from Kampala to his home in Western Uganda.
The latest BMW bike similar to the ones at the police VIP outrider costs over Shs 80 million.
Rarely, does this lot of police officers get face to face interaction with journalists given that they are rarely in direct contact with the general public.
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